Port Authority board authorizes contract for subway box

The Port Authority Board of
Commissioners authorized a major contract to permanently brace the box that
encloses the MTA's No. 1 subway line. It will form the foundation of the future
extension of Greenwich Street, which will bisect the World Trade Center site.
The contract will ensure public access to the 9/11 Memorial Plaza on the 10th
anniversary of 9/11, and represents one of the Port Authority's critical
third-quarter milestones.

The $177.6-million contract
was awarded to Tutor Perini Corporation of Peekskill, N.Y., and is $71 million
- 28 percent - below the $248 million budget estimate for this project. The
very favorable bid is credited to the restructured procurement process the Port
Authority implemented earlier this year to take advantage of a hungry, competitive
construction market.

The contract stems from an
innovative construction method developed as part of last year's assessment
process that New York Governor David A. Paterson called for in June 2008. The
so-called top-down approach allows the subway box bracing to be completed ahead
of previous schedules, and will ensure public access to the 9/11 Memorial on
the 10th anniversary of 9/11.

In another action, the
Board authorized the design and construction of an extension to the Vesey
Street pedestrian bridge over West Street, which will separate pedestrians from
increasingly heavy truck traffic at the intersection of Vesey and Washington
streets. Untangling pedestrian movements from truck movements will ensure a
safer pedestrian experience and greater construction productivity on the site.

Under the $4.5-million
contract, awarded to Atlantic Hoist and Scaffolding, LLC, the existing Vesey
Street bridge will be extended over the intersection of Vesey and Washington 50
feet east of Washington. The bridge will have an elevator, an escalator and a
staircase. Construction of the bridge will begin in the fall and be completed
in early 2010.